Tie plate



Jan. 5, '1932.

c. T. MATTHEWS ET AL TIE PLATE Filed May 19, 195 0 III r J z HK Mallhewsww Patented Jan. 5, 1932 res PATENT o-FFicE CARLTON T. MATTHEWS ANDHARQLD K. .I'IATTHEWS, 0F GREEN BAY, VJ'ISGGNSIN TIE PLATE Applicationfiled. May 19,

This invention relates to tie plates and one object of the invention isto provide a plate adapted to rest upon a tie beneatlra rail in order toserve as a support for the rail, the under face of the plate being soformed that the weight of the rail will cause portions of the plate tobite into the tie and prevent the plate from having movementtransversely or longitudinally of the tie. 7

Another object of the invention is to so form the upper face of theplate that a rail secured thereon will be pitched inwardly a slightextent and thereby reduce likelihood of a rail spreading or the wheelsof a train jumping the track.

Another object of the invention is to pro vide the plate with improvedmeans for securing a rail thereon including cleats for engaging oppositeside portions of a rail base and a filler strip adapted to be disposedbetween the rail base and one cleat and held in place by heads of spikesemployed to secure the rail and plate in place.

Another object of the invention is to so form the tie plate andrail-engaging means that a rail may be easily and quickly set in placeor removed and very firmly secured when fastened to the plate.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, whereinFigure 1 is a perspective view showing the improved tie plate in use,

Fig. 2 is a view showing the rail and tie plate in elevation,

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 33 of Fig. 2, and

Fig. 4 is a bottom plan View of the tie plate.

The improved tie plate, indicated in general by the numeral 1, may beformed of steel or any other desired metal and is of sufficient lengthand width to rest upon a tie 2 with end portions of the plate projectingfrom opposite sides of the base 3 of a rail 4:- The under face of theplate is formed with end recesses 5 and intermediate recesses 6 whichextend longitudinally of the plate in alinement with each other, and itshould be noted that the ends of the intermediate recesses terminate inspaced relation to the 1930. Serial 'No. 453,828.

'has'firm engagement with the upper face of 69 the tie but at the sametime the weight of the'rail will cause the edges of the ribs 7 and .8 tobite into the tie and prevent the plate from moving upon the tie.Therefore,

the rails will be prevented from creeping and also prevented fromspreading. One of the transversely extending ribs 7 is disposed ashorter distance from the adjacent end of the plate than the othertransverse rib and attention is called to the fact that the upper faceof the plate slopes from directly above 'thelast-mentioned rib towardsthe opposite end of the plate. This is clearly shown in Figure 3, andreferring to this figure it will be seen'that, when the rail is set inplace upon the plate, it will be disposed .slightly out of-aperpendicular position and lean inwardly. By this arrangement forceexerted as a train passes over a track will 'be'less likely to cause therails to spread.

- In order to secure the rail in place, there have been provided cleats9 and 10 formed integral with the plate and extending upwardly therefromin such spaced relation to each other that the inwardly extendingflangesll and12 of the cleats may overlap sideportions of the rail base.The flange 12 of the cleat 10 is of greater length than the flange ofthe cleat 9, and it should be noted that the distance between the innerfaces of these cleats is slightly greater than the width of the railbase. Therefore, when the rail is set in place upon a plate, it maybefirst engaged beneath the flange of the cleat '10 and then moved intoposition for the other side edge of its base to bear against the innerface of the cleat 9 with the flange 11 overlapping the rail base. Afterthe rail has been moved into engagement with the cleat 9, a filler strip13 is driven into place between the cleat 10 and adjacent edge of therail base, and this strip not only bears against the side edge of therail base but also overlaps the rail base and fills the space betweenthe rail base and the under face of the flange 12. formed through theplate in spaced relation to each other longitudinally of thetransversely extending ribs 7 and it should be noted that these openingsare disposed at opposite sides of the cleats in spaced relation thereto.filler strip 13 is of suficient length to project from opposite sides ofthe cleat 10 but of such length that, when it is in place, its endsterminate in spaced relation to the openings. Therefore, when spikes 15are driven through the openings into the tie with their heads 16overlapping and bearing against the rail base, the portions of the spikeheads which project transversely, as shown in Figure 2, will bearagainst ends of the filler strip, as clearly shown in this figure andprevent the filler .strip from slipping longitudinally out of place. Itwill thus be seen that the spikes not only serve to secure the plate andrail in place but also constitute means to retain the filler stripinplace. If, for any reason, it is necessary to remove a rail, it ismerely necessary to extract the spikes at opposite sides of the cleat 10and the filler strip can be easily driven out of place, therebyreleasing the rail and permitting it to be easily and quickly liftedfrom the platewithout entirely releasing the plate from the tie.

Having thus described the invention, We claim: 7

A tie plate, openings being formed in'the plate to receive securingspikes, rail-engaging cleats extending upwardly from the plate betweensets of spike receiving openings and having flanges extending towardseach other to engage over side portions of a rail base, the cleats beingspaced from each other a distance greater than the width of a rail baseand one cleat being disposed in spaced relation to spike receivingopenings between which it is located, and a filler strip driven intoplace beneath the last-mentioned cleat to engage a rail base, the fillerbeing of less length than the distance between the openings'at oppositesides of the cleat beneath which the filler extends, but of suflicientlength to have its ends engaged by side edges of the heads of spikesdriven through the openings into a tie, whereby the heads of the spikesmay engage the filler and serve to hold the filler against slippinglongitudinally out of position after being driven tightly into place.

In testimony whereof we affix our signatures. V CARLTON T. MATTHEWS.[L.S.] HAROLD K. MATTHEWS. [1 s] Openings 14 are It should also be notedthat the

